HARARE, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe has amended customs regulations in a bid to improve the management of transit cargo, with heavy fines being imposed on people who flout the transportation procedures.
In a statement Thursday, revenue collector, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), said Section 60 of the Customs and Excise (General) Regulations published in 2001 had now been amended under Statutory Instrument 113 of 2017 to provide better management and monitoring of transit cargo.
According to the new legislation, containers and vehicles conveying goods through Zimbabwe shall not be opened while in the country and any seals or electronic seals which are found or placed on the containers and vehicles shall not be broken or tampered with.
"Where seals are tampered with, lost or there is unauthorized breaking of electronic seals placed on a road vehicle, the offender shall be liable to a penalty of 1,300 U.S. dollars," the statement said.
Transporters shall also be liable to a penalty of 2,000 dollars for diversion from the route specified by the Commissioner General of ZIMRA.
ZIMRA started using the new system on Jan. 2, 2017 prior to it being commissioned by Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa in May under the theme: "curbing smuggling and transit fraud".
The Electronic Cargo Tracking System involves the use of electronic sealing devices, which are put on transit cargo at the port of entry.
It uses geo-fencing technology and is supported by Google Maps to ensure the accuracy of location and movement of transit cargo, as the cargo is monitored in real time up to the point of exit.
The electronic sealing devices send an alarm to the system's control room on any violations, which include seal tampering, seal opening and incidents of geo-fence violations.
Zimbabwe is a transit hub, catering for northbound and southbound transit traffic through its ports of entry and exit. The country is a gateway to East and Southern African countries and serves Zambia, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, among other countries.
The Office of the President and Cabinet has said transit cargo entries had declined by more than 60 percent by June as the country tightened its screws on transit fraud.
Prior to the new system, some transporters would enter the country purporting to be delivering goods to other countries but would dump them in Zimbabwe.
In some cases, fuel would be dumped in the country and the tankers would proceed to the border laden with water.
ZIMRA also said the transit period of three days for cargo would include weekends and public holidays.
